


Zero Days Without Incident

by Padawameron



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Brothers being assholes, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, My clone OC in this has zero lines and no name but I would still die for him and that's valid, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28802544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Padawameron/pseuds/Padawameron
Summary: Sometimes, Fox thinks, his brothers are more trouble than they're worth.He wouldn't have it any other way.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 64





	Zero Days Without Incident

**Author's Note:**

> Some light-hearted fluff to take the edge of looming exam stress
> 
> As always, any mistakes are my own and don't be afraid to let me know if you spot any glaring spelling or grammar goofs!

Glancing up from the latest Senate report Fox does a double take at the chrono, blinking the blur of words from his eyes. Something like disbelief shoots through him, quickly followed by suspicion. Three whole hours of uninterrupted work time is a lot longer than he usually manages. There's always something happening, a speedier crash, a robbery, some senator getting drunk and swinging at another, equally drunk senator. At the very least he can rely on one of his vode crashing through the door to bring him more paperwork or attempt to bully him into taking a break, because _"even grumpy droid bastards like you need to sleep sometimes, di’kut."_

Fox sleeps. Occasionally. He didn't haul that dank fold-up cot and musty bedroll he found in an abandoned storage cupboard up to his office for fun. The blasted thing was even kind of comfortable, once it had had a good clean. So yes, maybe the bedroll still had a funky smell to it even after multiple washes. And maybe it still contained more than one suspicious stain he doesn’t like to think about... Ok, maybe his brothers have a point, but Fox’ll be damned before he admits it. 

Tossing his pad aside he drains the last dregs of liquid from his mug, immediately regretting his decision when he gets cold, bitter, hours old caf coating his taste buds. Swallowing as quickly as he can, Fox rubs a tired hand over his face and heaves himself out of his chair. 

Venturing out into the main office his suspicions immediately double. There’s three times as many people as there should be, perched on desks and loitering around the edges of the room. He briefly catches Thire’s eye from where he’s lounging with his feet up, and the grin he gets in return sets his teeth on edge. Ignoring the cheeky salute thrown his way, Fox is aware of the eyes following his trek to the sink. His brothers aren’t even trying to be subtle, all but openly staring. Grabbing a clean mug he purposely ignores them, focussing on the steady drip of caf instead. 

The slight rustle of fabric is his only warning before the mug is snatched from his hands. Fox bares his teeth in a snarl and snatches another mug from the sink, restarting the caf machine. Stone snorts beside him and from the corner of his eye Fox sees him gearing up to make another move. Snatching a knife from the sink only takes a second, but the startled squeak Stone emits when the knife pins his blacks to the table will last a lifetime. Turning his attention back to the dripping caf Fox refuses to acknowledge his _dikut_ brother, even when Stone digs a bony finger into the crack in his armour. It's only when Thire brackets him on the other side he accepts his fate and pins Stone under the most unimpressed glare he can manage. 

"Oh come on, don't give me that look vod", Stone pouts, voice dripping in barely suppressed amusement. 

Fox's caustic response is interrupted before he can voice it by the other source of his steadily greying hair. 

"Don'tcha know what time it is, Foxy old boy,” Thire drawls, slinging an arm around Fox’s shoulders and turning him towards the windows. Fox’s eye twitches. “It's exactly 19:59, and would you look at that, no accidents.”

Sitting innocently on the window is a chalkboard. The wooden frame is painted guard red, and someone (probably Thire) has decorated it with tiny golden star stickers. There's multiple, half-used sticks of chalk lying at the base, along with an incredibly dusty cloth. Written along the top in yellow chalk are the words “Days since Incident", and below is a slightly wonky zero. 

The board hasn't been altered since its inception.

It had been a gift from Vos, inspired by one of the few nights Fox had joined his brothers for drinks at 79’s. Spine had been telling a story about the latest incident in the senate, something involving a spurned senate aide, an attempted poisoning and multiple exploding speeders, when Vos had come crashing through the crowd to drape himself across Fox’s lap like an overgrown lothcat. He had apparently caught the tail end of Spine’s story as he began poking fun at the Guards inability to survive a whole day without some kind of disaster. 

Fox's scoff of disbelief had only made Vos grin unapologetically. Vos was apparently content to leave out the fact that he himself is responsible for more than his fair share of incidents. 

Six drinks later found them raiding an old storage closet, until a shout had them crowding around Thire, who was holding a beat up old chalkboard above his head in victory. After a much needed makeover the chalkboard has sat untouched in the corner of the office ever since, as Coruscant and its citizens appeared determined to prove Vos right by stirring up new trouble for the Guard to deal with every day. That is, every day except for this one.

Thire’s grin is positively feral, a perfect match to the frenetic energy buzzing through the Guard. They've been watching the conversation like hawks. Fox reluctantly accepts the piece of chalk now being waved in front of his face, and digs a sharp elbow into Thire as he steps away, enjoying the small "oof" more than he probably should.

There’s a shiny practically vibrating with excitement beside the board, who upon Fox's approach snaps into a sharp salute, causing a large poof of chalk dust to explode from the duster still clenched in his fist. Smiling sheepishly he shuffles to the side, and Fox pretends to miss how the poor shiny's cheeks burn with embarrassment under the thin layer of white. 

Someone starts a drumroll and soon the whole office has joined in. The noise thunders in Fox's ears and he feels his heart speeding up to match. Taking a deep breath, Fox drags the chalk down the board. 

Chaos erupts. Brothers clutch at each other, bumping fists and slapping backs. A small wrestling match breaks out as one particularly enthusiastic vod captures Spine in a headlock and finds himself flipped over onto the floor, his batchmates jumping in to defend his honour. Fox allows himself a small grin as he slides back through the crowd, re-joining Stone and Thire and accepting the celebratory kiss Thire smacks against his cheek with good humour. Turning to pick up his now full mug, Fox pulls out his com intending to take a few holos for Vos, knowing the Jedi could use a laugh. 

There's a thundering crash behind him, closely followed by the smell of burning. The celebrations stop as quickly as they began.

Fox's head tilts forward to thump gently against the wall as a sigh escapes him, a tension headache building behind his eyelids. From the corner of his eye he sees Thire move to pick up the duster and wipe the board clean, and the harsh drag of chalk grates against Fox's ears. 

He should have seen this coming. 

The stunned silence only lasts a few seconds before the office explodes back into chaos, only this time it involves a lot less cheering and a lot more yelling. Fox almost feels sorry for the poor vod responsible. If they haven't already chosen a name, no doubt they'll have gained one by the end of the day. 

"Alright!" Thires voice cuts above the rest, effectively shutting down the arguing and drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Everybody out! Come on people, single file, single file." 

Shuffling fills the office as everyone is herded out, plastoid clacking together in the tight space. The door clicks softly behind them. 

Fox doesn't bother moving from his resting place. Stone pats his shoulder in mock sympathy, nimbly dodging the sharp elbow Fox aims at his side. 

"Well, twenty four hours and three whole minutes, almost to the second”, Stone lets out a low whistle. “That's a new record.”

Thire scoffs, moving back to his place on Fox's other side and pressing their shoulders together. "How long before the holovid reaches Vos?" 

"This is why we can't have nice things", Fox grumbles, spinning around to survey the damage. A large plant pot lays shattered on the ground, the spilled dirt and leaves still smoking. Fox has no idea how they even managed to catch on fire, but somehow the once vibrant green vines are now a smouldering heap of ash. It’s almost impressive. Fox didn’t know fire could burn that fast.

Sometimes, he thinks fondly, brothers are more trouble than they're worth. 

Fox watches as the shiny from earlier, still with smudges of chalk dust on his face, begins to pick up the broken pieces of the pot and place them gently into the trash. 

Finally stepping away from the wall with his fresh caf cradled in his hands Fox ignores his brothers as they continue to throw jibes at his retreating back and leaves them to deal with the mess.

Pausing for a second beside the shiny, and making a mental note to find out his name later, Fox reaches out a hand and gently nudges the chalk covered cheek, smudging it in even further. He bites back a chuckle as the shiny flushes bright red again. He fails to suppress a full burst of laughter when he ruffles the shiny's hair and another poof of dust erupts, the poor kids curls hiding a whole heap of debris.

As the door slides closed behind him and he is left in the organised chaos of his office Fox allows himself to admit, even if only to himself, that while his brothers may be assholes, he wouldn't have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!!
> 
> I love these boys so I hope I did them justice.


End file.
